Employment-Based Immigration

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Employment-Based Immigration

Immigration can be a powerful tool for supporting a country’s economic growth and prosperity, but its success in accomplishing that objective depends on well-designed and carefully implemented immigration policies that strategically facilitate immigration’s economic contribution. Major immigrant-receiving countries increasingly are examining how to select immigrants across a range of skill levels, retain those with the greatest potential to succeed, engage employers constructively in the immigration process, and facilitate immigrant integration, as the research here explores.

Migrants from the Philippines and Sri Lanka have taken on a growing role in filling labor shortages in Jordan, leading to significant challenges surrounding the recruitment of these foreign workers. Based on interviews with government officials in sending and receiving countries and focus groups with migrants, the report analyzes the role of private recruitment agencies and points to oversight gaps.

European dominance in U.S. immigration flows has decreased significantly since World War II, a result of economic, demographic, and policy trends on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, migration from European Union Member States to the United States, while small, is characterized by a substantial numbers of European scientists, professionals, and businesspeople.

Since 1970, the immigrant populations from Mexico and Central America living in the United States have increased significantly: rising by a factor of 20 even as the total U.S. immigrant population increased four-fold over the period. This demographic report examines the age, educational, and workforce characteristics of these immigrants.

While aspects of the U.S. immigration system facilitate newcomers’ contributions to economic growth and competitiveness, others undermine them. Reforms are needed to enhance the job-creating power of U.S. employers and strengthen the system’s ability to select effectively from the large pool of foreign workers.

Two competing models for selecting economic-stream immigrants are now prevalent in advanced industrialized economies: points-based and employer-led selection. Increasingly, however, hybrid selection systems are being created, implementing best practices from each selection process.

In the Spotlight

MPI has compiled in one easy-to-access location its key research and data resources on issues, policies, enforcement programs, and more that relate to the immigration reform debate underway in Washington.